SIVAGANGA: With whistle serving as the election symbol of actor-turned-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) for the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, a civic decision in Sivaganga municipality has unexpectedly taken on political overtones.
A DMK councillor has instructed cleanliness workers in his ward to stop using whistles during garbage collection and instead use microphones and speakers to broadcast public awareness messages. Ward 21 councillor Ayub Khan said the move was aimed purely at improving communication with residents and promoting cleanliness awareness, replacing the traditional whistle alert with informative announcements.
“I have instructed them to broadcast awareness songs instead of blowing whistles. From now on, whistle sounds will not be heard in my ward,” he said.
Cleanliness workers in Sivaganga typically go street by street every morning, blowing whistles to signal their arrival and prompt residents to hand over their waste. However, Khan has now provided workers with small microphones and portable speakers to make announcements and play recorded cleanliness messages and songs.
Explaining the initiative, he said the idea was inspired by practices in bigger cities. “I have instructed them to broadcast awareness songs instead of blowing whistles. From now on, whistle sounds will not be heard in my ward. In cities like Chennai, cleanliness workers play awareness songs while collecting waste. We want to introduce the same system here,” he said.
He said the new method will help spread messages about hygiene, waste segregation, and keeping neighbourhoods clean, while also creating a more organised system of waste collection. He believes announcements are more engaging and educational than whistles, which serve only as alerts. However, the timing of the decision has led to speculation among some residents.
With the whistle symbol now closely associated with the TVK party, a few locals suspect the restriction could be politically motivated or aimed at avoiding any perceived endorsement during the election season. Sources in TVK claimed that the local authorities were worried that the continued use of whistles by civic workers could be a form of indirect campaigning for the newly formed political outfit.
He firmly denied such claims, maintaining that the change is strictly administrative and intended to modernise sanitation practices. For now, the workers in Ward 21 have begun their rounds with speakers instead of whistles, marking a small but noticeable change in the daily routine.